How Yoga Asana can Improve Your Focus

"Brainy What-Why-How"

Your weekly nibble of brain-based tips to help you move and feel great!

No. 7

What:

You may be able to influence how you THINK by changing how you MOVE.

Example: Research shows that 

1) repetitive movements and 

2) holding postures in stillness (and mindfully) 

can be helpful to those with ADHD.

And remember, people with so-called disorders can teach us what's helpful and useful for so-called "normal" brains and bodies. 

Why?

Any movement is brain training.

And how we move stimulates the brain in different ways. 

As someone with ADHD, I find a lot of pleasure moving on my yoga mat in novel and creative ways ...

(and this has tons of benefits! -- why I made my whole Brain Based Creative Sequencing course about it!)...

as well as not really holding any postures for very long (also has benefits!) 

But things can be beneficial and still need their opposites to balance them out.

I have learned that doing what feels boring for me --i.e. repeating the same sequence several times, and holding postures in stillness -- can be really beneficial for my ADHD brain, and the research backs it up.

This is exactly why the flows on Move With Adell start and finish in the same posture: so you can repeat that sequence a few times to get the benefit of repetition!

How:

How to apply this information? 

In this new flow on Move With Adell, I encourage those with ADHD (or anyone experiencing a lack of focus) to hold a posture even if they're tempted to move around a lot.

We also do a few movements that stimulate the vestibular system -- another way that tons of research* has shown to help those with ADHD!

Besides joining me for the Warming Full Body & Drishti Balance Flow, doing a mindful movement practice such as yoga and holding the postures in stillness, focusing on your breath and body, can be helpful for focus!

But there's one more thing:

This comes from my own experience rather than any research, but...

if I get on my mat thinking "ugh I have to do the boring stuff" then I will never get started. 

So I appease my ADHD brain by starting with some weird funky moves that feel fun. Then, that is what I repeat. And this is exactly what the Move With Adell method is! -- short, fun, sequences built to be repeated.

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"Be kind whenever possible. And it is always possible." - 14th Dalai Lama

Thank you for reading!

And please share with a friend or colleague who might find this valuable.

Focusing my love vibes on YOU,

Adell

*Resources:

• I shared about this when I was a guest on Tracy Otsuka's Podcast "ADHD for Smart Ass Women"
• "A possible correlation between vestibular stimulation and auditory comprehension in children with ADHD" Haghshenas et al. Psychology & Neuroscience. 2014:7(2);159-162.
• "Yoga Therapy for Children with Autism and Special needs" by Louise Goldberg (chapter on yoga for ADHD)
• "Yoga and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: A review of the evidence and future directions." J Dev Behav Pediatr. 2012;33(1):62-70.
• "Yoga as a complementary treatment for adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)." J Atten Disord. 2016;20(11):965-981.
• "Meditate to create: the impact of focused-attention and open-monitoring training on convergent and divergent thinking" L S Calzato, A Ozturk, B Hommel. Front. Psychol., 18 April 2012.
​These studies provide some insight into the potential benefits of yoga for individuals with ADHD. However, as with any research, it's important to read the studies critically and consider factors such as sample size, study design, and potential biases and stay curious, ask questions, and keep your mind open to all possibilities 😄

Want to go deeper on all of this geeky brain stuff?

• check out my discount codes for Z-health University courses (where I learned the majority of this -- seriously it's mindblowing) 
• check out my Brain Based Creative Sequencing Course -- everything you need to get moving in new ways in accordance with how your brain best functions!